UK, France launch airstrikes on ‘IS’ facility in SyriaAP, DAMASCUSBritish and French warplanes carried out an airstrike in central Syria on an underground facility where members of the Islamic State (IS) group are suspected to have stored weapons and explosives, the British Ministry of Defence said yesterday. The UK and France are part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS militants for more than a decade. Photo: EPA / SGT LEE GODDARD HANDOUTThe ministry said the British military used Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets supported by a Voyager refueling tanker and were joined by French aircraft in the joint strike. Despite its defeat in Syria in 2019, IS sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq where the extremists once declared their caliphate. UN experts say IS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq.

Source: Taipei Times January 04, 2026 17:31 UTC